Steve Wyer

What do people see when they search for you online? Steve Wyer and Third Coast Interactive (3Ci) specialize in making sure that your search results present you and your business in a positive light. From content creation to online reputation management and digital branding, Steve Wyer and the team of experts at 3Ci have the knowledge and skills to keep your online presence just that–yours.

About 3Ci

3Ci was founded by Steve Wyer and his wife and creative partner Barbara Wyer. Over the years, 3Ci has evolved with Google and other social media giants and developed powerful tools to utilize the Internet’s most influential sites to best serve 3Ci’s clients. Steve Wyer and the 3Ci team have developed the most advanced systems using Wyer’s unique perspective and breadth of industry expertise.

The 3Ci team

Steve Wyer serves as the CEO of Third Coast Interactive. Along with Chief Technology Officer Aaron Kocourek, Steve Wyer leads a group of talented individuals with experience in all aspects of digital marketing. Dedicated account managers, IT support staff, development and process specialists, and US-based writers complete 3Ci’s service-oriented team.

What they mean, who gives them, and how they can affect a business’s bottom line

We’ve all grown accustomed to star ratings, says digital branding expert Steve Wyer. In fact, we expect them. But, what do they really mean? This is a question that most consumers fail to ask themselves before trusting this popular indicator of a company’s value. A “star” review, or rating, is a sliding scale used to allow customers to quickly rate their experience with a company. They are often given in conjunction with a description of that experience. And, as Steve Wyer points out, they have become more important to commerce than word-of-mouth marketing.

Reviews can affect the bottom line in a number of ways. The most obvious is related to the impact they make on the consumer reading the review. A second, lesser considered impact, is of a more technical nature. According to Steve Wyer, when a consumer searches for a type of company online, the results are ranked by a complex search engine algorithm. One factor influencing the algorithm is how much attention a business receives in the form of reviews. A business with more reviews – either positive or negative – will often be at the top of the list, a key placement for search results. This usually translates into more customers for those high-ranking companies with favorable reviews, explains Steve Wyer.

When it comes to review sites, some actually have greater search engine authority than others. Citysearch, Google, and Yahoo are among some of the top review platforms. Sites such as these are looked upon with greater trust by consumers, meaning that bad reviews here can cost a local business big bucks. Independent studies have found that a single star difference can upset a company’s customer capture rate by as much as 9%, reports Steve Wyer.

There are virtually countless reviews posted online at any given moment. These reviews can make or break a business in an age where convenience is king and people can access information with the swipe of a finger.

Steven Wyer has lived with the shadow side of the Internet ever since his business, his family and his credibility were attacked without warning online. Given his professional work history, Wyer never expected this type of attack would happen to him. Now serving as the Managing Director for Reputation Advocate, Inc., he focuses his efforts toward helping others who have been slandered online as he was.

In 1992, Steven Wyer established Wyer Creative Communications, Inc., a fully integrated direct marketing company focused on financial services. Wyer Creative utilized proprietary computer telephony integration and data rich information to support the efforts of 400 employees based out of two national call centers. The company was recognized in 1999 as the fastest growing company in middle Tennessee for five consecutive years and appointed to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Hall Of Fame for private business.

Steven Wyer’s clients included General Electric, Chase, H&R Block, Equitable Securities, CTX, Banc One and First USA. Over the next nine years, Wyer Creative would influence the way the mortgage industry created, processed and serviced its clients. This period of time ushered in the “next wave” – consumers and the Internet.

According to Steven Wyer, “Even a decade ago, the average consumer was not interacting with electronic information on a daily basis. But that all changed quickly. Google was born in 1998 and by 2001 everyone knew what search engines could do.”

Steven Wyer has been a consultant to financial institutions involved in consumer lending and collections, mortgage lending and institutional asset management. His professional memberships have included the National Association of Securities Dealers, The Mortgage Bankers Association, The Direct Marketing Association, American Teleservices Association, The Debt Buyers Association and most recently the eMarketing Association. “Every one of these industries is now driven almost completely by the Internet,” reflects Wyer.

From 2001 until 2005, Steven Wyer built two companies that acquired and collected on just under one billion dollars worth of consumer debt. Fourteen call centers, three law firms and information built these companies into very powerful recovery platforms. “Those businesses were all built on information found on the Internet. We had access to a tremendous amount of instant information; it’s what drove the business,” says Wyer.

The companies ended up in litigation and all of the information and speculation surrounding the court activity wound up on the Internet. Wyer says that his life was irrevocably damaged by information found online. “It was shocking that people from the other side of the world asked questions that had nothing to do with the professional relationship I had developed with them. Both businesses ended up shutting their doors because of information I had no control over.”

In 2006, Wyer diversified his professional interests. He founded FlexHedge Small-Cap Equity Fund, a structured finance company providing fixed rate, fixed term financing for small and midsized public companies. This company was also negatively impacted by the information found online about Wyer’s former businesses. While it is said that parties are innocent until proven guilty, Steven Wyer experienced first hand that the Internet has upended such long held notions of justice. For the first time, he was confronted with the shadow side of the Internet. Wyer says that he has come to realize that there is real damage being done today because of search engine information that is incorrect, malicious or outdated.

“Today, the level of negative information, slander, half truths and spin is out of control,” says Steven Wyer. “Negative information found on the Internet impacts every area of life, and yet there is little that most people can do to correct it. It is unbelievable what this type of information is doing to the fabric of our society. A great man once said that a good reputation is hard earned over a lifetime but it can be gone in the blink of an eye.” Wyer notes that a disgruntled employee, a customer having a bad day, a frivolous lawsuit, envy, anger, even lust – it all has an unfiltered outlet through the Internet and the damage is hard to manage.

Steven Wyer’s book, Violated Online, delves into the stories behind online slander. The book offers more than 50 specific tips on how the reader can better prepare for an unexpected online attack. The book has opened up speaking opportunities throughout North America and now Wyer juggles the demands of overseeing a thriving business, setting aside time for his next book and the demands of travel.

Steven Wyer serves as the Managing Director for Reputation Advocate, Inc. He is the author of Violated Online published by Dunham Books. He may be contacted at 888-229-0746 or by email at swyer@reputationadvocate.com